This invention relates to systems for decompressing the cylinders of a diesel engine, for example the engine of a vehicle. The present invention provides for decompressing the cylinders at the will of a human operator (for example, a truck driver).
It is commonplace for the engine braking system of a vehicle driven by a diesel engine to decompress the cylinders of the engine, by opening the exhaust valves of the cylinders during engine braking. For example, the so-called Jacobs brake which has been in common use for a number of years has an overhead slave piston which opens the exhaust valves of the cylinders when the engine brake is applied.
It is also well-known that a hydraulic system under control of the truck driver, or other human operator, controls the exhaust valves to decompress some or all of the cylinders during the starting of the diesel engine. One such device is disclosed in Godfrey, U.S. Pat. No. 2,183,558 issued Dec. 19, 1939 and entitled Decompression Device.